Lottery is a gambling form in which people purchase chances to win a prize, typically money or goods. The prizes are determined by drawing numbers or symbols. This method of distributing property dates back to ancient times. The Old Testament instructed Moses to take a census of the people and divide the land among them by lot, and Roman emperors used lotteries to give away slaves and other property.

Modern state lotteries are a popular way for governments to raise revenue to pay for everything from wars and education to roads, prisons, and health care. They are often promoted as painless forms of taxation, but in fact they can create serious problems.

The first lottery games that offered tickets for sale and prize money in the form of cash were in the Low Countries in the 15th century. Towns organized them to raise money for fortifications and to help the poor. Francis I of France introduced them to his country in the 1500s, but Italy is considered the birthplace of public lotteries with prize money awarded by draw.

A major problem with state lotteries is that they have a tendency to grow beyond the control of their owners. This is mainly because most of the revenue is derived from players who have little or no power to regulate the activity, and because of the inextricable human impulse to gamble for the big jackpots featured on billboards. State lotteries are also highly regressive in the distribution of their players and revenue. Most of those who play the big jackpot games are from middle-income neighborhoods, while lower-income people participate in daily numbers and scratch-off games at much lesser rates.